Charlie Brown had his hands in his pockets, and he was looking down at his feet as he was making his way back home. Almost immediately after walking out on Schroeder and Heather, he felt guilty, and he had the strong urge to go back.
At the same time though, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. He could not shake off the negative emotions that ran through him each time he saw Heather and Schroeder together. Clearly, the two of them were not together (romantically) as of yet, but Charlie Brown continued to wonder what Heather and Schroeder's feelings toward each other were. What if they actually did like each other? Charlie Brown felt a sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of Schroeder and Heather becoming a couple. Charlie Brown was the one who liked Heather! He had been hopelessly crushing on her for nearly four years now.
A short time later, Charlie Brown entered his own house. He then passed by the television, and from the beanbag chair, Sally glanced over at him.
"You're back sooner than I expected. I thought for sure Heather's moves would keep you entranced for longer than that," she said, half-jokingly.
But Charlie Brown didn't respond to her as he proceeded towards his room.
"Gee, what's the matter with him?" Sally mused as she looked back at the television.
Charlie Brown arrived in his bedroom. He gave a sigh as he walked over to his desk, hoping that maybe focusing on some schoolwork would help him clear his mind.
Unfortunately, it only took about ten minutes before he decided that that wasn't going to work. Sighing in resignation, he stood up and went to go grab a shower. After doing that, he changed into his pajamas and stretched himself out on his bed. He wasn't tired yet, but he just didn't want to do anything else right now.
Over the next little while, his feelings of jealousy had subsided a fair bit, but the feelings of guilt remained. He had just walked out on the mini-show by two of his closest friends. Schroeder and Heather had been putting so much effort into this routine, and they were so excited to show their friends how far they had come on it. But Charlie Brown, being the blockhead that he was, selfishly walked out on them because he was jealous over Schroeder and Heather's relationship. He was sure that the both of them were going to be upset with him over this.
The next morning, Schroeder was busy working on a large batch of schoolwork. His and Heather's second attempt at their routine had been executed near flawlessly, and he was sure that he and Heather would be ready on the day of the talent show. His little crowd that had come to watch all commended him and Heather on their performance.
But ever since Charlie Brown had walked out on him, his mind would occasionally wander back to the question of why he had left in the first place. He was beginning to have an idea as to what may be going on, and should such theory be the case, although he'd be a little upset that Charlie Brown would have these thoughts, he would assure him that he had nothing to worry about.
But Schroeder's questions were soon about to be answered.
As he stood up to stretch his legs and go get a glass of water, Schroeder heard the phone beginning to ring. He walked over to it and picked up.
"Hello?" he said.
"Schroeder, this is Charlie Brown," came the voice at the other end.
"Oh. Hello, Charlie Brown," Schroeder greeted, though he sounded slightly less enthusiastic than usual when greeting Charlie Brown.
"So, uh... I first wanted to say that I'm sorry for walking out on you and Heather last night," Charlie Brown said.
"Okay," Schroeder responded.
"The truth is..." Charlie Brown said as he struggled for a moment, wondering if he really wanted to do this.
"Yeah?" Schroeder urged him. "The truth is what?"
Charlie Brown gave a sigh. He wasn't sure what would come out of a discussion like this, but he decided that he needed to do this. He needed to know what Schroeder and Heather thought of each other. However, he decided that over the phone was not the best way to be having this conversation.
"Actually, would it be okay if I came over to your house to talk about this?" Charlie Brown requested.
This surprised Schroeder a little bit, but he decided that there was no president against it.
"Sure, Charlie Brown. When do you want to come over?" he said.
"Actually, would right now be okay?" Charlie Brown asked.
"Well, I'm pretty busy with schoolwork right now, but you can come a little later in the afternoon. Would that be okay?" Schroeder said.
"Okay, that's fine," Charlie Brown agreed.
"Alright, well, I'll see you then," Schroeder said before he hung up.
Charlie Brown hung up as well, and then began to think about what it was that he was about to do. He was nervous about what would be the outcome of this. All the same, he knew that if Schroeder really did like Heather, and that it was possible that the two of them could end up together, that he would need to try and be happy for him, no matter how much it hurt him. If he could sacrifice talent show acts, perfect standardized test scores, and other things that he'd think would impress Heather, in order to do what was right, he could do this too.
At about four in the afternoon, Charlie Brown was on his way to Schroeder's house. As he drew close, he heard what sounded like him playing his piano, signaling that he had completed all that he needed to do for the time being. Charlie Brown was almost tempted to just walk in, since he already knew that Schroeder was expecting him, but decided against it and settled for the doorbell.
A moment later, Schroeder answered.
"Ah, Charlie Brown," he greeted. "Please, come in."
"Thank you," Charlie Brown said as he entered. The two of them then walked back over to Schroeder's piano.
"So... you're about to tell me why you've been acting so strange lately?" Schroeder asked, just for reassurance as he sat back down on his bench.
"Yes," Charlie Brown replied, his nerves starting to kick in. This was it. How was this going to go?
Charlie Brown was silent for a few seconds as Schroeder looked at him, waiting for him to begin. He contemplated on how he should bring this up.
"Okay. Schroeder, Regarding what's been going on, I first have to ask: How... how do you feel about Heather?" he wound up asking. "I mean, do you like her... like, more than a friend? Like, are you...?"
Charlie Brown immediately felt like he was being childish after asking this. Despite that, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know the truth about Heather and Schroeder's relationship. It still wouldn't excuse his behavior though.
Instantly, Schroeder knew where this was going, and he was now fully certain as to why Charlie Brown had been acting the way he was. It was exactly what he thought it was. Charlie Brown was suspecting that Schroeder was possibly interested in Heather romantically, and that something was perhaps starting to go on between the two of them.
Although, Schroeder somewhat understood his concerns given how Charlie Brown felt about Heather, he still felt a bit angry and hurt that Charlie Brown would be thinking something like this, and he gave him a hard stare.
"Charlie Brown, do you really think that I'm the type of person that would try to start a relationship with Heather when I know how much you like her? Especially with how close you two have become? I thought you knew me better than that!"
Very quickly, a look of regret crossed Charlie Brown's face as Schroeder began scolding him. To his credit though, with how many instances over the years that Charlie Brown has had to face something starting out so well, only for it to end up in failure or despair for him, one had to remember that it all had eventually hit a breaking point for him. And to this day, he was still having some struggle with regaining a positive outlook on his life. Support system or not, these demons didn't disappear overnight, or even over a few weeks. It was going to take quite a while.
And as of right now, that thing that was at least currently going so well was his growing bond with Heather, his longtime crush. This relationship mattered to him so much, and it had by this point come to mean pretty much everything to him.
"Also Charlie Brown, think about it. When have I ever shown any real interest in any girl? I never have! And with everything that I've been doing lately over the past couple of months, what with my studies, my club, my piano practice, and that I may someday get into Juilliard, how would I ever find the time for a relationship?" Schroeder continued, a frown still on his face. "Girls have always been the last thing on my mind, and right now, that's absolutely no different. I'm not interested in girls, I've been extremely busy lately, and you know all of this. At least... I thought you did."
Charlie Brown lowered his head in shame as all of Schroeder's words hit him. He really has been acting stupid over this whole thing. Of course Schroeder wasn't actually interested in getting together with Heather. Any jealous feelings Charlie Brown had were now completely washed away, only to be replaced with guilt. He really was a blockhead sometimes. He should've known better than to think that Schroeder was the kind of person who would try to take away from him any chance he had with Heather.
"I'm so sorry, Schroeder," Charlie Brown said sadly. "You and Heather are two of my best friends and I've been acting all stupid lately because I was jealous. And now... I am aware that my jealousy is all over nothing."
"It's true that Heather and I have been spending more time together lately than usual. But our relationship is more professional than anything. We're only working together because our skills can go well together to create a performance act that could win us the talent show. I know for a fact that Heather doesn't think of me as more than a friend," Schroeder told Charlie Brown, though not appearing as angry anymore. "You, on the other hand, have a much different relationship with Heather. Ever since Junior High had started, she had come into your life as someone who looked to be a source of support and companionship when you really needed it. She supports you, she never belittles you, she helps build you up, and most importantly, she admires you. Need I remind you of all those things she had said about the kind of person you are?"
Although he still felt guilty, Charlie Brown felt his mood being lifted back up as Schroeder reminded him about how Heather saw him as a person. He thought about everything Schroeder was telling him and knew that he was right. He didn't need to be jealous of Schroeder and Heather's relationship. But he still had one last thing he wanted to say.
"I like her, Schroeder. I really, really like her," he said.
Charlie Brown felt inside the weight of the truth behind those words as he spoke them. He really did like her. There was no doubt in his mind of his feelings toward Heather. No "wishy-washyness" this time. No way he'd ever find himself doing something such as being at Lucy's psychologist booth stupidly asking her "What if I don't really like her as much as I thought I did?"
"I know you do, Charlie Brown. And I'm never going to get in the way of that," Schroeder assured him. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to let you in on a little secret."
"Oh? What's that?" Charlie Brown asked curiously.
"There was a time a few weeks ago where Heather was asking me if you've been okay lately. I told her about how you were struggling with your decision to not play baseball anymore," Schroeder began.
So that's how Peppermint Patty found out I didn't want to play baseball anymore! Charlie Brown thought. She must've overheard Heather and Schroeder talking about it.
"After I had answered her question, I had remarked to her that she seemed to show quite a bit of concern for you. And you know what happened? She got flustered by that," Schroeder told Charlie Brown. "Now, I'm not going to just jump to conclusions or anything, but I have a feeling that she may just like you a little more than you know."
Charlie Brown gasped at this. "R-Really? Are you sure about this?"
"She just might, Charlie Brown," Schroeder replied. "She just might."
Charlie Brown felt himself brimming with hope now. Was it really possible that Heather could feel this way about him? About the still-somewhat-insecure, wishy-washy Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown then quickly shook his head to clear these thoughts. He could dwell on this all he wanted to later, and he was sure that he would, but right now, he needed to make sure that he and Schroeder were still on good terms after all of this.
"Once again, I'm really sorry for how I've been acting towards you and Heather's relationship over the past couple of weeks. Can you forgive me?" he said.
"I will on one condition," Schroeder said.
"What's that?" Charlie Brown asked.
"On the day of the talent show, you stay for our whole performance. And also, I want to see you wow the crowd with a good ol' magic act," Schroeder requested, beginning to smile.
Charlie Brown grinned back at him. "It's a deal!"
Author's note: Yeah... I'm going to need another chapter to wrap up this part of the story. But, anyone reading this who may for some reason have felt nervous that somehow I would decide to change course in terms of pairings, this chapter should put those worries to rest. Schroeder is one of the few halfway-decent friends to Charlie Brown, and he has promised that he would never get in the way of him and Heather, no matter how he might have felt about her.
Stay tuned for the next chapter!